The Other Side
I don't understand. I...I was talking to this guy. He just looked like a rich eccentric, or something...especially with that ridiculous hat he was wearing. I mean, a purple suit is bad enough... And...n-now I'm here. Where is here? Well, mysterious narrative, you've become one of Ralph's latest victims and have been transported to the Other Side! Well done? You're probably not getting out of here, but knowing your way around can help lessen the unpleasant experiences you will recieve. So, permit me to take you on a guided tour... Outside This place is dead. I'm standing by a sea - or it was a sea, once. Now it's just thick, black, polluted. Doesn't move. No moon in the sky to pull it. The sand is cold and grey in the dark. The dunegrasses lie flat; the air too still, too stuffy to allow them movement. ...I think I see a door of some sort. A steel hatch... Outside, in the actual world of the Other Side, things are pretty boring. The two most common areas found are a beach and a hilly area; nobody has explored further, particularly as the air is so thin as to make subsisting on it for more than an hour dangerous. Entrance Tunnels & General Area The door opened without resistance; it led to an earthen tunnel, leading downward. The unmoving sea and wind would have implied nothing lived here. But I can hear them...down there, I can hear laughing... I wasn't going back. I'd move onwards, downwards. The tunnel gets steeper as it goes on. I can also see metal panels starting to cover the hewn rock. It's about the point when the tunnel is almost completely vertical that it becomes more like a pipe, totally covered in cold steel sheets. It also begins to split into multiple pipes. I slow down, wondering which way to choose. After all, I doubt I'll be able to climb back up...oh crap, that's a point. How am I getting out of here? You're in now, and you ain't getting out. Not physically, anyway. Have fun! A misstep, and my decision was made for me. I fell straight down, banging against the metal walls, getting faster and faster until I was certain I'd be smashed to bits on the eventual landing. As it was, though, the landing was quite unexpected - one second I was rushing past glinting grey patches, so fast I couldn't hear my own screams before the wind tore them away...the next, a distinct feeling of wetness...it took me precious seconds to realise I was sinking and frantically kick myself up to the water's surface. ...It wasn't water. That's quite right, it isn't. It's something not even Redwing would stock under his roof. Well, I shouldn't second-guess that guy...guh. Khm! Anyway, from here it's a maze-like load of tunnels that nobody has managed to map out; it's...weird. Moving on... Main Hall Oh, those ''things are hideous.'' Some jawless horror who looked like it couldn't stand under its own weight somehow managed to fish me out of the pool and try to drag me off somewhere. I resisted; it hit me against a wall until I stopped resisting. Then, as my vision blurred until I couldn't see past my own nose, Mr. Skin 'n' bones grabbed me by the left arm and pulled me along the ground for what seemed, to my quivering brain, years. Yeah, they'll do that. Protip for everyone reading this - if you think you can handle a Graem, you can't. Even if they're not stronger than they look, they'll keep going until you're the loser. Ralph's displeasure is far worse than anything stupid little you can muster. But where was I...oh yes...this skinny, white-eyed weirdo was by no means the worst thing there. It dropped me off in a massive chamber - my sight was returning to normal; I could look up and see there was no end to the height of this place. How deep had I gone? As I finally regained the ability to process clear images, I focused on an advancing crowd. It was getting closer. Most of them were eyeless, faceless, stick-limbed...not unlike the guy who'd brought me here. They were picking up speed. Some were much more outlandish-looking - was that...was there a snake monster? Hungry...so hungry... A great, blue-feathered bird's head poked out of the crowd, smacking others away with its beak. The serpentine body I'd already noticed followed after; half slithering, half dragging itself by its bat-like wings. As it opened it's beak, I expected some loud cawing, but no - it spoke. The Main Hall is big. It's essentially where everyone chillaxes - which to graems means ripping each other's guts out and torturing the 'fresh meat'. Most of the 'processing' - that is, becoming a graem - takes place here, unless specific results are wanted, in which case... Ralph's Chambers "Mine!" "No, ''mine."'' Now that voice sounded familiar...everyone else recognised it, too - the entire crowd looked over to the right. I followed their line of sight. The first thing to catch my eye was a ridiculously tall, purple top hat... "Ah, yes, you." A thin red eye caught mine. "I looked a little different last we met, didn't I? Come here..." Yeah, now you're screwed. Don't sit on the chairs. Don't go too near the walls. Don't go too near the curtains, the screens, the organ keys, or anything. Do not scream. Do not not scream. Don't tread on anything suspicious - in fact, avoid the floor entirely. And most of all, absolutely most most most of all, by no means whatsoever, on pain of fate worse than death, never piss Ralph off because this is not going to end well for you but the least you can do is not make it worse. Oh, and while you're remembering this advice, remember your name, too. Your real name, the name your parents gave you and the name everyone calls you by. Keep on to that, because he's going to try and replace it. You can't stop him changing you, but if you hold on to your name you can keep hold of your humanity. He offered me his hand and I took it without thinking. He had a firm grip, yes, I remember...a very firm handshake, now like iron around my wrist...He told me his name was Ralph. Last time, he'd said it was Roy. 'Ralph' lead me up the stairs and through into a rather small room - well, there were curtains covering the walls to the left and right of the entrance, and maybe there was more space behind them. I reached out to pull one, but was stopped by the chill of a blade upon my throat... Oh, so melodramatic - that's just his index finger. The Trap No. No no no. Where am I now? I don't...I don't understand... It's my house, but...so many rooms, so many doors, I...I'm lost. Lost in my own house? It's not my house. This is not my house. This...what...what is that? No, no, stay away, stay away! You're not rea''l! I was...you're not real! You're just a nightmare!'' Get back! Get back!